DEBUNK’D: Finding solace in the fake PS4 promo
As is usually the case around E3, some announcements are just too “out there” to be true. Take for example the now debunked “PS4″ trailer that has been dissected, argued over, scrutinized, and examined by every internet sleuth across the interwebs. While it’d be idiotic to think Sony would put out a PS4 in the current economic climate, this video has had no trouble convincing a whole number of people to think exactly that. Although I understand the frustration that comes with the discovery that people are crafty enough, or have the kind of free time on their hands, to create a piece of deception like this, it’s kind of fun to know that the people ‘concocting the news’ are getting better at making convincing material on the cheap. In a way, it’s all for the purpose of keeping us, the consumer, excited for what might be right around the corner.
For example, it reminds me lot of all the different mock-ups that flood the internet each and every time the slightest rumor of new tech hits the web. Think of all the fan-made images of Sony controllers, PSPs, Xbox Slims, Xbox Portables, iPhones and iPads we’ve been seeing all over the place for years. Maybe they’re a sign of admiration (“you should totally make it like this!”), or perhaps a sign of frustration (“we know you won’t ever make it like this!”) Whatever the reason may be, people like to stir up the pot any way they can whilst getting some attention for doing so. And with the means to create such forgeries becoming easier to obtain and more powerful iteration after iteration, it’s become noticeable harder to spot the wheat from the chaff.
In some cases, the response to a confirmed product can be more apathetic than that of a rumored product. Remember when people were speculating over the design of the PSPGo? We were sure it would have a slide up screen, a very large hard drive, and, finally, two analog sticks. Sony couldn’t possibly be daft enough to release another product with only one stick ready to replicate all the problems of the previous model. And then, disappointment struck again. Looking back at visual speculative aids that people created to represent what the PSPGo could look like, it’s kind of hard to believe that Sony didn’t think “dual sticks” was an issue worth addressing. Hey, there’s always the PSP2.
No one likes being fooled, even when the quality of the fooling is above par. But maybe, on some level, the act of being fooled in this manner is something that has to happen. Maybe it’s the kind of deception that makes the true upgrade in hardware or software, as a whole, more rewarding because it’s “official”; it’s coming. In the case of E3 week, it’d be no fun if there wasn’t some speculation over what’s confirmed and what’s the clever misdirection of a few crafty fanboys (and girls). It’s a time fueled by possibilities where nothing is really announced until it’s up close, in your face, and so loud it’s presence is undeniable. So to SCELabs, I admit that, in this case, I can forgive them for a producing a not-so-little white lie. It may not have been the most chivilrous thing to do. But hey, it certainly made for an interesting twenty-four-hour period.
What do you guys think? Is stuff like this infuriating, interesting, diverting, inspiring, or just a waste of everyone’s time?
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